Best Horror Films of the 80s Poll

[jiraffejustin]

My mini-marathon idea went kaput. However, I did get a handful of movies watched:

The Woman in Black - The first 30 minutes or so dragged, but the final hour well made up for it. Atmospheric is the word I've seen describe it, and I'd agree with that. I usually don't care for "atmospheric ghost" horror films, but when done right (see The Innocents) it can be really effective. Woman in Black is a fine example.

StageFright: Aquarius - I was torn as I was watching this brutal little flick. Sometimes the combination of American Slasher filming techniques with Giallo style didn't mesh, but when the killer starts killing this movie kicks into hyperdrive.

Razorback - Jaws as a giant boar in Australia. This movie was a lot of fun. I just wish I had seen the uncut version.

The Toxic Avenger - As a person that doesn't typically care for schlocky movies, I was very surprised by The Toxic Avenger. It didn't have the same sort of schlock as Evil Dead (which I truly despise), the jokes actually hit. And it also had a heart, even though it had a morbid way of displaying it.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space - I admit, there were times when I was genuinely starting to enjoy it...then it would come in with a joke. A bad joke. And not the type of bad joke where you laugh at the irony of the bad joke. It was just a bad joke. And it really took me out of the movie.

[Beyond72]

Originally Posted by jiraffejustin

StageFright: Aquarius - I was torn as I was watching this brutal little flick. Sometimes the combination of American Slasher filming techniques with Giallo style didn't mesh, but when the killer starts killing this movie kicks into hyperdrive.

I think it's a pretty amazing achievement, given it came at the end of the slasher cycle. The way the director of the play notes the killer is enjoying himself is inspired.
I also love how he defends his play by saying so what if it doesn't make sense - imagine the audience's reaction. Sums up wonderfully, what many of us love about Italian Horror films.

[jiraffejustin]

Tenebre - Argento means style. Awesome soundtrack, intricate plot, violence, and a satisfying conclusion. Awesome false ending. And the best thing about this movie is that it's almost interactive, it felt like playing a violent game of Clue.

Originally Posted by Beyond72

I also love how he defends his play by saying so what if it doesn't make sense - imagine the audience's reaction. Sums up wonderfully, what many of us love about Italian Horror films.

I didn't think of that while watching, but I've been thinking about it since you mentioned it. It makes sense, and I think it actually increases my appreciation for it.

[SilverGunnar Hansen]

Never got the love for Tenebrae - pretentious nonsense, and apart from two key scenes (the double murder and pan around of the house), and the axe-arm scene, it's horribly boring. Guess I just never really got into Argento as much as alot of other people, whereas I find my love for Fulci growing the more I watch his films, the good ones at least. Also getting right into Deodato the now . . .

[jiraffejustin]

Originally Posted by SilverGunnar Hansen

Never got the love for Tenebrae - pretentious nonsense, and apart from two key scenes (the double murder and pan around of the house), and the axe-arm scene, it's horribly boring. Guess I just never really got into Argento as much as alot of other people, whereas I find my love for Fulci growing the more I watch his films, the good ones at least. Also getting right into Deodato the now . . .

I don't think it's pretentious, I think a murder mystery film has to be confident enough to string along it's audience until the end. Which, is where I am guessing your idea of it being pretentious comes from. I'm not entirely sure. But I severely need to start watching more Fulci. I've only seen Zombie from his work.

And, I'm certainly not the biggest Argento fan, I've only seen Tenebre, Suspiria, and Deep Red. I love Suspiria, I like Tenebre, and I don't care for Deep Red.

[SilverGunnar Hansen]

I just think all the literary stuff in it is daft and the 'twist' is too ludicrous to work with the pretentious stuff about art influencing people, the flashbacks etc - I've watched it a couple of times and it just doesn't work for me. I was underwhelmed by Deep Red too. I think my favourite Argentos are Opera, Inferno and Creepers/Phenomena - I find them the most well-paced and I like how random they are, while still packing in loads of imagination. I admire Suspiria but it's never done much for me, except make my ears ring, in a good way!

I'd seen the Fulci zombie flicks loads before (although only recently came to appreciate all of them) but even more recently sat down and watched things like New York Ripper - which I think is really under-rated, up there with Argento's giallos - and Don't Torture A Duckling, which is stunning looking and full of provocative ideas.

Deodato has been a pleasant surprise for me - didn't expect there to be so much going on beneath the surface in Cannibal Holocaust, House On The Edge Of The Park and to a lesser extent Cut And Run. It took me a couple of viewings to really like the first two, but they are pretty amazing in their way. Cut And Run is just alot of fun!

[Manchester Morgue]

I really kind of hate lists and think they're reductive, but also they're irresistible and I've obviously just spent ages compiling and formatting this despite almost never actually posting here.

1. Videodrome (Cronenberg, 1983)
2. The Thing (Carpenter, 1982)
3. The Evil Dead (Raimi, 1981)
4. Evil Dead 2 (Raimi, 1987)
5. The Fly (Cronenberg, 1986)
6. An American Werewolf in London (Landis, 1981)
7. Day of the Dead (Romero, 1985)
8. A Nightmare on Elm Street (Craven, 1984)
9. Re-Animator (Gordon, 1986)
10. The Fog (Carpenter, 1980)
11. Possession (Zulawski, 1981)
12. Creepshow (Romero, 1982)
13. Dead Ringers (Cronenberg, 1988)
14. Near Dark (Bigelow, 1987)
15. Ghost Busters (Reitman, 1984)
16. Fright Night (Holland, 1985)
17. The Beyond (Fulci, 1981)
18. Hellraiser (Barker, 1987)
19. Return of the Living Dead (O’Bannon, 1985)
20. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (Russell, 1987)
21. Gremlins (Dante, 1984)
22. Night of the Creeps (Dekker, 1986)
23. The Monster Squad (Dekker, 1987)
24. Night of the Demons (Tenney, 1988)
25. Prince of Darkness (Carpenter, 1987)
26. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (Wallace, 1982)
27. Tetsuo: The Iron Man (Tsukamoto, 1989)
28. Cannibal Holocaust (Deodato, 1980)
29. Pumpkinhead (Winston, 1988)
30. Christine (Carpenter, 1983)
31. From Beyond (Gordon, 1986)
32. Phantasm II (Coscarelli, 1988)
33. Society (Yuzna, 1989)
34. Bad Taste (Jackson, 1987)
35. Poltergeist (Hooper, 1982)
36. Scrooged (Donner, 1988)
37. The Gate (Takács, 1987)
38. Spooky Encounters (Hung, 1980)
39. Killer Klowns from Outer Space (Chiodo, 1988)
40. The Stuff (Cohen, 1985)
41. Demons (Bava, 1985)
42. The Prowler (Zito, 1981)
43. The Company of Wolves (Jordan, 1984)
44. Something Wicked This Way Comes (Clayton, 1983)
45. Creepshow 2 (Gornick, 1987)
46. A Chinese Ghost Story (Ching, 1987)
47. Scanners (Cronenberg, 1981)
48. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (McNaughton, 1986)
49. Mr. Vampire (Lau, 1985)
50. Christmas Evil (Jackson, 1980)
51. The Serpent and the Rainbow (Craven, 1988)
52. My Bloody Valentine (Mihalka, 1981)
53. Return of the Living Dead: Part II (Wiederhorn, 1988)
54. Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (Pittman, 1987)
55. The Hitcher (Harmon, 1986)
56. Poltergeist III (Sherman, 1988)
57. Pet Sematary (Lambert, 1989)
58. Night of the Comet (Eberhardt, 1984)
59. House (Miner, 1986)
60. Razorback (Mulcahy, 1984)
61. Vampire's Kiss (Bierman, 1988)
62. Dead & Buried (Sherman, 1981)
63. Parents (Balaban, 1989)
64. The Blob (Russell, 1988)
65. The Deadly Spawn (McKeown, 1983)
66. Brain Damage (Henenlotter, 1988)
67. Street Trash (Muro, 1987)
68. Amityville II: The Possession (Damiani, 1982)
69. Prison (Harlan, 1988)

Distinctions between a few places are fairly arbitrary; I can't realistically choose between say Creepshow and Dead Ringers.
Also, I curiously found myself omitting stuff like The Shining and all the Friday the 13th films? Dunno why really.

I'll be sure to send the PM nearer the time.

[jiraffejustin]

As we inch closer to the due date, here's what my top ten looks like:

1. The Shining (1980, Stanley Kubrick)
2. The Fly (1986, David Cronenberg)
3. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986, John McNaughton)
4. Re-Animator (1985, Stuart Gordon)
5. Blue Velvet (1986, David Lynch)
6. Videodrome (1983, David Cronenberg)
7. The Thing (1982, John Carpenter)
8. Manhunter (1986, Michael Mann)
9. Day of the Dead (1985, George Romero)
10. Hellraiser (1987, Clive Barker)

I don't really see my top ten changing that much. I pretty much love all of them. Hellraiser is the only one I could possibly see moving more than a spot down, and that would take a really cracking film to take me by surprise. (I am going to watch a Fulci double-bill tomorrow, so we never know.)

[jiraffejustin]

THE POLLS ARE OPEN

You have until the 10th of March to send in your ballot. You can start sending them in now though. However, if there is a movie or two you want to watch before you send one in, go for it. If you don't know if you will be able to see the movie before the deadline, you can go ahead and send the list in now, and if you manage to see it, just send me a revised list before the deadline.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

I haven't contributed to this thread previously but i'll send in a list if its ok.

Do they have to be ranked in preference or just listed?